Rice plays an important role in everyday eating and that comes from the first meal of the day to the last and while its not the only way to eat breakfast it certainly is one of the standards set by the cuisine. Living in Hawaii takes a lot of work as many people have a long transportation time to and from work. So one of the more popular items to eat on the go is a musubi. While the iconic Spam Musubi marks at the top of the popularity charts for most eaten musubi the standard musubi marks at a close second for its ease and simplicity.
This popular rice ball originated in Japan as a "Onigiri" literally padded ball of rice in Japanese, but when people ate many of these Onigiri they didn't know what it meant in the language and the term itself was difficult to say,so they just settled to call it a musubi. Another story goes that the term "Musubi" means "Tie a knot" which is quite the different meaning that could confuse someone who actually spoke Japanese and it was a small nuance that made the onigiri separate in its food identity on the island. Calling a onigiri a musubi would make one think that it was like sealing a solid contract or permanent status of living in a long term or relationship headed down for marriage. But with local culture it isn't too far off from the plantation way of life and thus the local way of living in Hawaii and fits well into the message of the island as well. It was a common sight to see these rice balls in the plantation days, because they were very convenient. A popular type of Triangle musubi that gained more of a following was particularly the Musubi with processed meat on top, particularly the spam musubi. So, musubi that were shaped like a triangle were referred to as triangle musubi and the spam musubi had a story to tell of its own and had its own name as well . Other musubis are popular as well, such as Tempura Musubi, and Jumbo Musubi. These rice balls are made specifically with sticky rice. The reason it is done this way is because it helps the rice ball stick together, even when its fried. It has a seasoning, nori seaweed, and additional ingredients. When a musubi is freshly made the nori is crunchy and crisp, but most musubi that are taken to the beach are soft nori versions. A rice ball is often made at home and taken on the go. They are tasty eaten at room temperature and better if they are warmed up a bit before eating. Most known version of the triangle musubi is the White Rice Triangle Musubi. The triangle musubi are quite big with rounded corners that overflow outward from the nori. You can see the large size difference especially when compared to the smaller variations found in Japan. It was created this way to feed hungry children and always taken as a convenience food. When compared to its onigiri in Japan the Triangle Musubi can appear extra large and enough for two onigiri that appears as a sumo sized version of a musubi. For that reason there is different sizes of small, regular, and large sizes of triangle musubi. After world war II, there were only a limited amount of variety of Triangle musubi. For example the common rice balls would have Seasoned Triangle Musubi and Pickle Triangle Musubi. Years later Triangle Musubis that became popular with the younger folks was Furikake Triangle Musubi, Mixed Rice Triangle Musubi, and Fried Rice Triangle Musubi. Triangle Musubi - Sticky White Rice - Sticky Sushi Rice - Hapa Rice - Brown Rice Pickle Mixed Rices - Takuan Radish - Sweet Onions (green onion) - Ume Plum Shiso - Wakame Shiso Seasoned Rices -Salted Rice -Furikake Rice -Wakame Chasuke Rice -Kimchi Furikake Rice** Mixed Rices - Steamed Fish - Misoyaki Butterfish - Furikake Salmon - Panko Mahimahi - Teriyaki Beef - Vegetable Curry - Barbeque Beef Fried Rices - Local Fried Rice - Kimchi Fried Rice - Adobo Fried Rice - Shoyu Chicken Fried Rice - Charsiu Pork Fried Rice
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